Breezy outlook for offshore wind as government unveils fresh grants

As Clipper Windpower says it expects to have its Newcastle blade manufacturing plant open by autumn, the government announces £8m in new grants for offshore wind technologies

The government has today pumped a further £8m into the UK's emerging offshore wind industry, inviting grant applications for innovative new technology and manufacturing projects.

The funding was announced at an event at the proposed site for Clipper Windpower's new turbine blade manufacturing plant in Newcastle, attended by prime minister Gordon Brown and energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband.

Clipper, which last year received a £4.4m grant from a previous tranche of the government's Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF), confirmed that it is pressing ahead with its plans for the factory at the Shepherd Offshore Renewable Energy Park in Walker, Newcastle, revealing that it expects the first phase of work to be completed later this year.